Donations of time
(to develop new packages, maintain existing packages, or provide user support),
resources (to mirror the FTP and WWW archives), and money (to pay for new
testbeds as well as hardware for the archives) can help the project. See also
How can you help Debian?.

13.1 How can I become a Debian software developer?

The development of Debian is open to all, and new users with the right skills
and/or the willingness to learn are needed to maintain existing packages which
have been "orphaned" by their previous maintainers, to develop new
packages, and to provide user support.

The description of becoming a Debian Developer can be found at the New Member's Corner
at the Debian web site.

13.2 How can I contribute resources to the Debian project?

Since the project aims to make a substantial body of software rapidly and
easily accessible throughout the globe, mirrors are needed. It is desirable
but not absolutely necessary to mirror all of the archive. Please visit the
Debian mirror size
page for information on the disk space requirements.

Most of the mirroring is accomplished entirely automatically by scripts,
without any interaction. However, the occasional glitch or system change
occurs which requires human intervention.

If you have a high-speed connection to the Internet, the resources to mirror
all or part of the distribution, and are willing to take the time (or find
someone) who can provide regular maintenance of the system, then please contact
mailto:debian-admin@lists.debian.org.

13.3 How can I contribute financially to the Debian project?

Donations from sponsors allow Debian to have machines, as well as other
hardware, organise conferences and development sprints, amongst other things.
For more information see please visit Debian Donations. The page
also lists the different methods that can be used to donate.

One can make individual donations to organizations that are critical to the
development of the Debian project. The main organization is Software in the
Public Interest, incorporated in the United States, but there are others.

13.3.1 Software in the Public Interest

Software in the Public Interest (SPI) is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization based in the United States. The purpose of the organization is to
develop and distribute free software.

It encourages programmers to use the GNU General Public License or other
licenses that allow free redistribution and use of software, and hardware
developers to distribute documentation that will allow device drivers to be
written for their product.

SPI acts as a fiscal sponsor to many free and open source projects. The Debian
project has been an associate project since the organization's creation.